I have owned/used at least six different neo hoods over the last 15 years and this one is the best. It has become a permanent part of my kit, even in warm weather. Being bald I get a lot of heat loss both from convective and conductive cooling. The sun visor is a great plus and I can usually get away without wearing sunglasses on the water. The perforations over the ear area allow me to hear, but the hood still keeps most of cold the water out of my ear canal. I started out with the non-visored Mystery Sea Hood and I've since returned it to NRS. For some odd reason the non-visored hood does not conform to the shape of my cranium as well as the visored hood. I should note that although I have a 7 1/4 hat size I went with the L/XL in this hood. I found the S/M was too small.

As a professional guide and kayak instructor I am on the water every day, year-round. I am often wet and need to retain as much heat as possible and this cap is the best that I have found. This, too, is a great wet weather cap. Another use of this cap is that it prevents impact of water driving water deeper into my ears when teaching rolling and when surfing. This is one of my "must-haves" in my kit bag.

I received this as a gift. I would't have purchased it because it's described as a "sea hood." Actually, it turned out to be great for cold water playboating. It's genuinely warm and the chin strap allows the wearer to tighten it down enough to minimize the flow of water when upside-down in a hole. I love it!